MY EduKid Initiative
We’ve read of kids using handphones with cracked screens to follow online classes. Some don’t even have this. Their parents simply cannot afford a laptop. Rather than just talking about it only, we want to do something to help.
So today, we launched a project, MY EduKid Initiative, to raise funds to purchase Chromebooks for urban poor children in PPR flats, to attend online classes. Our target is to hit RM30K, for the purchase of Chromebooks to help at least 20 families, pay for data lines and cost of monitoring the progress of these children over a year.
Will you please help support the kids?
1.) Contribute (if you can); we welcome any amount (minimum is RM1). Maybank acc 5123 5261 8446 (Community Transformation Initiative Berhad. Ref: EduKid)
2.) Share about MY EduKid Initiative with your relatives, friends, friends’ friends etc and ask them to support too.
On behalf of the kids at the PPR, I thank you in advance for your support.
VIRTUAL SAVIOUR
Malaysians born in the late 80s have our minds ingrained with the Wawasan 2020 mantra. A visionary future for a developing nation where almost everything would be advanced. Back then, our imaginations ran wild thinking of flying cars or shoes that enable us to cross time and dimensions – just like the Back to The Future movies.
Then 2020 happened. The Year. The Year of Pandemic. Who would have thought 2020 would be year that will turn the world upside down.
No flying car. No flying shoes. While we have planes, they cannot fly – not because of the lack of technology but because borders are closed to contain the spread of the virus. Millions if not billions of people are affected directly and indirectly by this pandemic.
Nevertheless, looking at the world through a glass half full, the current situation provides different opportunities that force us to change, and some are indeed for the better.
In our Public Relations or PR line, some might raise the question of how will this industry survive when physical distancing is a requirement? Face-to-face interviews is a no-go, media gatherings even more so not allowed, there is no fam trip and so on.
This is where a key attribute of PR – rapid adaptability – is invaluable. And of course, thanks to technology, almost everything is possible.
Technology has helped PR practitioners be more creative and allowed us to manoeuvre around numerous alternatives to keep communications running and ensure that it is effective. Despite having no face-to-face activities, my team and I managed to achieve a series of successful virtual events for different brands and topics – from travel to tech, communications and even pets! With many working from home, we went the extra mile. Suffice to say, we now know where many editors and writers live!
However, in reality, when virtual takes over physical, it is not as easy as it sounds. It requires a lot of preparations, if not more than a physical event, before D-day. Rehearsals are important. Both the spokesperson and us need to pay extra attention to details. Things that were never in the checklist before, such as the camera angle, sitting position, lighting and background colour become critical. The goal is to reduce the possibility of glitches when we are dependent on technology to power the activity.
This is not something we can easily learn from a textbook. We went through multiple experiences and learned from previous events to improve for the next one.
The truth is, COVID-19 will be around for a while. We have to ‘tip toe’ our way when in public or during physical meet-ups. Therefore, virtual meetings and events are going to be the mainstay of PR efforts. At the same time, we must keep exploring new things and interesting ways to help brands share their messages.
Susu
COURTESY
Courtesy is a great virtue in life. Courtesy in its simplest form is treating others with warmth and respect; being considerate, responsive, and kind in our interactions with people. It is an act of civility and good manners. It is the cornerstone of etiquette, yet is oft overlooked with increasingly digital communications.
Dictionary.com describes courtesy as having excellent manners, polite behaviour, and social conduct. Merriam-Webster meanwhile defines it as good manners or respect for others. Having good behaviour and doing nice things for others without ulterior motives will can bring positive effects in both personal friendships and business relationships alike.
A society populated by courteous people offers greater quality of life than one where people are rude and inconsiderate. In a survey of some 1.5 million people by a global travel site, Malaysia’s capital city emerged as the second friendliest city in the world. "Malaysians are naturally friendly and nice to strangers, and Kuala Lumpur is the best example of this. The easy-going temperament of locals and their friendliness towards visitors means that it’s easy to make friends here,” the study goes on to state.
Kuala Lumpur was behind only to Vancouver, Canada. Canadians have earned a reputation as being excessively apologetic i.e. they would rather apologise than find themselves in any form of conflict. The saying goes that if you bump into a Canuck, they would most probably apologise for being in your way. Juxtapose this with citizens of the City that Never Sleeps, New York City. New Yorkers have gained the unenviable stereotype of being rude, impatient, uptight and snobbish.
Generally speaking, city folk tend to be less courteous than their suburban and countryside counterparts. This may be because city folk adopt this guarded state as a defense mechanism having been raised in the hustle and bustle of city life. A dog eat dog world as they say.
Cutthroat corporate culture could be a reason for the lack of courtesy as well. Employees are groomed to chase KPIs at all costs or suffer repercussions. This may lead to a culture of only looking out for themselves and adopting the WIIFM attitude — what’s in it for me?
As companies become larger, the need to stand out becomes greater. Not doing so can hamper career progression and lead to unnecessary stress. Lashing out or taking advantage of others can become more commonplace. Sometimes even genuine acts of kindness can be misread as a person trying to gain an advantage over someone else. This breeds a viscous cycle.
For many people today, the majority of communication is neither face-to-face nor real time. In addition to the prevalence of email and voicemail, teleconferences and videoconferences have replaced other opportunities for in-person get-togethers. The result of this shift is that much more of our work today is conducted impersonally, which may mean that there may be less pressure to observe social niceties.
At any rate, courtesy costs nothing and only has upsides. It is always good to follow basic guidelines for social or business etiquette. Random acts of kindness like paying things forward are even better. You may discover that one small gesture or offer of help can make the difference to someone's entire day. Respect towards others should be standard behaviour in the workplace and society, regardless of role, rank, or reputation.
Nobody should be taken for granted.
Darren
新冠肺炎疫情；线上营销的巅峰时期
新冠肺炎肆虐全球已超过一年，它对所有人都造成不同程度的打击。个人、家庭、微企和大型企业都无一幸免。
在疫情的影响之下，市场上的实质问题都被呈现出来。许多经营线下营销的品牌的问题点在所有人都已适应新常态后，被展露无疑。居家作业、行动管制令、保持人身距离和各种标准作业程序驱使消费者减少外出，从而造就了线上营销的巅峰时期。而此时品牌则利用当前趋势，共同开拓线上和线下的营销方式，以持续地进入消费者视野。
为了适应今天的经济和不断变化的环境，品牌策略在不同方面也随之改变。线下营销的重创可通过线上营销取长补短或相辅相成。在疫情之前，消费者喜欢到商场购买家庭用品、蔬果、电器等等；在疫情爆发之后，似乎所有物品都能在各个电子商务平台、品牌官网或其他平台购买。就连之前必须要在店内才能品尝到的食物或饮料都陆续出现在外送服务应用程序里。
所有品牌都转战线上营销无疑增加了市场的竞争力。要在茫茫大海中取得消费者信赖是一件不容易的事，毕竟消费者对没有亲身体验过的产品会存有保留。在疫情期间，品牌多以能深入人心的视角和战略去捍卫品牌，切入市场并与消费者产生共鸣，而不是一味地追求高价但效果不显著的方法。品牌也可利用搜索趋势的改变为自身商品制定营销策略。流量越大的商品，越能获得消费者的信心；曝光率越高的品牌，能获得越高的知名度。而媒体或意见领袖的背书更能有效地提升消费者对品牌的信赖，加强巩固消费者和品牌在疫情期间的桥梁。
疫情的影响被许多人视为灾难。对品牌而言，这可以是机遇或挑战，视乎品牌会在交叉路前如何选择。
Verman
JIREH JOURNAL
TOP PERCEPTIONS OF PR
Public relations (PR) is not an industry widely known to people. When I first joined this industry, I too struggled explaining to my friends and relatives what I actually do. To give them a simpler answer, I would just say it is something to do with media. But they ended up thinking I am a media reporter or are in advertising. I’m pretty sure I'm not the only one who faced this challenge.
After almost a decade in this industry, I can now sum up some of the perceptions that people have of PR.
1. PR equals events
This is one of the very top perceptions people have about PR. Yes, we are involved in events but this is not the core activity. An event is just a platform for us to disseminate the message. Having a PR event is also an opportunity for PR practitioners to keep in direct touch with media, establishing or maintaining the relationship.
2. We only write press releases
Knowing how and being able to write a good press release is the cornerstone of what we do. However, PR is much more than that. We advise on the brand positioning, strategise the messaging, craft the bosses’ speech, evaluate the timeliness of narratives, build media relations and so on. Therefore, no, we do not only write press releases.
3. “I can write. I love to talk to people. That’s why I’m in PR”
It’s true PR requires you to do a lot of writing and talking to other people, especially the various stakeholders. It is also a lot more than these. It requires both IQ and EQ, a desire to do research and read up, a lot of hard work in coordination, perseverance in following up, ability to pack information and things well, and the list goes on.
4. PR does not need money
This is my biggest annoyance. There is a propagated belief that PR is cheap or free. As a result, budget is not properly allocated. Hence, many a time, there is insufficient or no budget available to execute the PR activity well. For example, no budget allocation for proper photography or preparation of b-rolls or even translated collateral for media. The reality is media are now functioning with manpower constraints and have no time to translate from English into their language. The outcome is, the pick-up will be lower.
I believe the situation arises from a lack of understanding of how PR works and what is required. A simple way of thinking is, PR is just like any other marketing and promotional activity – it requires proper budget and understanding that things and efforts cost money.
To be honest, not everyone can do PR well. PR is as an art. The art of persuasion. The art of understanding (the client, the media, the industry and everybody else that we need to work with). It is also the art of patience (of which, I’m slightly losing ever so more often when dealing with other people!).
Not many people realise the importance of PR for brands, companies and even the society. It requires a lot of advocacy. The role of PR is most apparent during a crisis. Handled and communicated well, the public will be placated and even understand the situation. Otherwise, the perception formed and reputation gained will take years to repair, and sometimes, never.
Susu
CONFIDENCE
‘What’s wrong with being confident?’, Demi belts out in her self-empowerment glam rock track. Well, nothing. Confidence is as often said, key.
Self-confidence is the quality of being assured about your abilities, personal judgment, and power. A confident person exhibits competence in a natural and effortless way. At times confidence can be assertive and sometimes, it’s silent.
There is a certain charisma around people who exude confidence; they inspire belief. Some are born with while others build self-confidence over time. It can impact different aspects in life, from personal to professional, and can open doors to new opportunities.
An essential aspect that automatically sparks confidence is knowledge and expertise. And this is vitally important in the line of PR and dealing with clients. We must be confident in the advice we give and our suggestions to do or not do something.
We have to be able to stand our ground when questioned about what we present to others. This is achieved not by simply arguing emotionally, but by being composed and rationalising, drawing from research and preparation to strengthen our points. Preparation breeds confidence. Knowing you’ve done all the groundwork helps build the confidence to respond under pressure when the time comes.
Being confident also doesn’t mean we do not need help. Having absolute trust in your own ability is fine and dandy, but we must accept that we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness or lack of confidence. Indeed, it is quite the contrary! It shows we are secure enough to acknowledge our shortcomings and are confident in our peers to deliver on the required scope.
Neither does confidence mean we are infallible. Mistakes do happen. There are times when the decisions we make may lead to less than desirable outcomes. Being confident means we step up to the plate to take responsibility. And in a post-mortem, justify our course of action based on information available to us and accept where it could have been improved. Take repercussion on the chin instead of letting it dent your confidence. We live and we learn.
With all that being said, there is a fine line between being confident and cocky or arrogant. The real key is learning to straddle and toe the line without crossing over, less you be labeled cocksure and lose respect and support of peers. Or worse, turn off potential clients.
Darren
CHRONICLING
In the line of PR work, some people place greater emphasis on quantity over quality. They look at ROIs and other quantitative data e.g. coverage achieved, its PR value and how many media actually attended a PR event instead of what truly matters: whether their message is being carried in a proper and meaningful manner through relevant channels.
This happens more so with those who are unfamiliar with communications or PR. They only see an expense incurred and must be able to justify spending that amount of money which could otherwise be utilised elsewhere, whatever that elsewhere may be. Perhaps, in search engine optimisation or on advertisements which can generate trackable leads.
Clients may require a log of all that is being done by the communications team to justify their upkeep. They do not see the day-to-day effort that goes into the profession. The interpersonal relationships built, fostered and maintained with external parties that help make a campaign successful. The research and understanding of different subject matters and topics to craft usable material for the campaign. The internal debate over which word works best for a press kit, or what sentence can be made crispier. The sheer number of revisions some drafts go through to make it the best possible work to reflect current situations.
Some only see a KPI cast in stone and whether it has been met or otherwise, not realising communications has several external factors that may impede its progress, just like many other aspects in life. Sometimes the best of plans can fall apart due to events in which the communications team has no control over. Lo and behold, 2020 has been just that, an unprecedented year where most plans had to be rethought.
This is where reports come into the fray. As much as I dislike doing reports, I admit is has become a necessary evil. It can help the communications team take credit for work done well (whether it is acknowledged is a different story), and explain in the event a campaign sees less than desired outcome.
Often, the finance and internal audit teams even want a timesheet to log the actual amount of time the communications team spends on a campaign. They do not realise spending time to fill out this log detracts from actual work that can be done. Can you imagine having to jot down every second spent on replying texts or taking calls to offer advice, or to lobby for attendance or coverage?
As tedious as it may be, sometimes there is no workaround. I pray for the day where communications work is appreciated and understood better so we can rid ourselves of this chronicling of information.
Darren
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